1.4 QoL Improvements!

After leaving a Group Finder group after having killed at least one boss with that group you will be given the option to teleport back to where you entered the Group from.

Bind on pick-up and Bind on Legacy items will now have a 2 hour window where they can be returned to the vendor for full value or traded to another eligible character.

Change your character's facial expressions by setting their mood.

You will be able to hide helmet and unify color to chest on companion characters.

Originally Posted by SWTOR

Quality of Life Improvements in Game Update 1.4

On top of the major features that we work on and deliver to the fans, we also try to work in smaller features to improve the overall quality of life for our players. Game update 1.4 has several of these features, and it’s worth calling these out.

Group Finder Teleport Back – The top complaint about the Group Finder when we shipped it was that it did not send you back to where you were originally adventuring when you completed the content.

After much discussion, design came up with a compromise that we think will work pretty well. Starting in Game update 1.4, when you leave the Flashpoint by any means, you will be offered a teleport back to your adventuring location IF you have killed at least one boss in that Flashpoint (or in some cases, hit a significant checkpoint). This will be presented in a menu – players can choose instead to jump to the entry of the Flashpoint (in case you want to just jump to the Fleet to repair, for example).

Delayed Binding – Ever accidentally roll greed by mistake? Ever spend your commendations on the wrong item at the token vendor? In Game Update 1.4, players will be able to address this issue. Bind on Pickup and Bind on Legacy items will now have a 2 hour limit in which they can be exchanged. If they were a loot item, you can freely give the item to any party member who was in on the kill and therefore eligible to loot the item. Similarly, if you buy something from a commendation vendor, you will have 2 hours to return the item to any vendor and get a full refund of commendations.

There are limitations. This does not apply to stackable items or mission items. Adding or removing mods and augment slots will permanently bind the item (prematurely ending the timer), as will opening a lockbox. If the item is a Bind on Equip item you get from a vendor, then mailing, trading, listing the item on the GTN, or placing in the guild bank will also prematurely end the timer.

Moods – Here’s something fun: in Game Update 1.4, you can set your character’s mood – i.e. his facial expression. As an example of this, try typing /alarmed or /cheery. This will set your character’s facial expression permanently (although it will be overwritten in conversations when the dialogue calls for a specific animation there). The full list of moods you can choose will appear in the emote browser attached to your chat window.

Companion Customization Improvements – Finally, starting in Game Update 1.4 players will be able to hide the helmet, or unify colors to chest, for their companion’s gear (see the screenshot at the top of this article). No more mismatched, silly outfits (unless you like them that way)!

These are, of course, small improvements, but in these cases, a little bit of programming and design work go a long way towards making players happy and improving quality of life. We’re always on the lookout for small wins like these, and there will be more of them in the future.

I think it's positive signs of life. Granted not many people are required for such minor things, it shows that they still have the capacity to put some people on it and get it done. If this was a sinking ship with people racin to get their last gasp of air before all signs of life were extinguished, you would not have an update like this.

My tin foil hat says that 'moods' will give way to being able to purchase a lot more moods/emotes from the cash shop, instead of via legacy like they are currently. As a complete side note to that idea, it would be really great of them to let you earn currency from your legacy to spend in the shop or have things unlockable with legacy that you can get for cash in the shop. Much like how current legacy and credits work now.

Also, revamping achievements to reward Cartel Coins and back crediting everything would be a great service to former/current players and would also give more things to do in the game.

I think it's positive signs of life. Granted not many people are required for such minor things, it shows that they still have the capacity to put some people on it and get it done. If this was a sinking ship with people racin to get their last gasp of air before all signs of life were extinguished, you would not have an update like this.

My tin foil hat says that 'moods' will give way to being able to purchase a lot more moods/emotes from the cash shop, instead of via legacy like they are currently. As a complete side note to that idea, it would be really great of them to let you earn currency from your legacy to spend in the shop or have things unlockable with legacy that you can get for cash in the shop. Much like how current legacy and credits work now.

Also, revamping achievements to reward Cartel Coins and back crediting everything would be a great service to former/current players and would also give more things to do in the game.

I agree. They are still fixing the game and improving it as opposed to abandoning it. It's a fine line between what you consider launch ready and not. Some of this definitely should have been in at launch, moods not so much that's fine but the rest of it probably yea.

Group Finder Teleport Back – The top complaint about the Group Finder when we shipped it was that it did not send you back to where you were originally adventuring when you completed the content.

After much discussion, design came up with a compromise that we think will work pretty well. Starting in Game update 1.4, when you leave the Flashpoint by any means, you will be offered a teleport back to your adventuring location IF you have killed at least one boss in that Flashpoint (or in some cases, hit a significant checkpoint). This will be presented in a menu – players can choose instead to jump to the entry of the Flashpoint (in case you want to just jump to the Fleet to repair, for example).

Maybe I'm missing something, but I always thought not going back to were you were after an LFG was just a technical issue, and they decided to ship LFG without waiting for a fix, rather than delay the patch.

This makes it sound like a concious design decision. Why would you not want to send someone back to their starting point? Why have the restriction on needing to kill a boss? Heck, if you kill a boss, you're more likely to want to go to fleet and turn in the daily. Sending someone back to their starting point sounds like the desired behaviour in the vast majority of cases. I don't really understand why they think people should "want" to go to Fleet instead of where they were.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I always thought not going back to were you were after an LFG was just a technical issue, and they decided to ship LFG without waiting for a fix, rather than delay the patch.

This makes it sound like a concious design decision. Why would you not want to send someone back to their starting point? Why have the restriction on needing to kill a boss? Heck, if you kill a boss, you're more likely to want to go to fleet and turn in the daily. Sending someone back to their starting point sounds like the desired behaviour in the vast majority of cases. I don't really understand why they think people should "want" to go to Fleet instead of where they were.

You aren't missing anything. It was entirely a decision on their part. I am honestly baffled by a lot of their mentalities on MMO 'standard practices'. It's like they feel the need to be different at all costs, even at the suffering of the playerbase. Almost as if they are trying to be elitist in theory, but crippling in practice. It still seems like they are listening to people on the internet too much.

The only explanation I ever read from them was that you were taken back the starting area in order to turn the quests in. They are overcomplicating the system. It's very simple. There should be 3 options:
1) Port outside of instance - for repairs basically
2) Port to Fleet -Obvious reasons
3) Port where you came from - obvious reasons.

The first bits are stuff that should absolutely be in the game, but I love that they're including moods. It's something not enough games have (for games that don't already allow facial feature customization).

You aren't missing anything. It was entirely a decision on their part. I am honestly baffled by a lot of their mentalities on MMO 'standard practices'. It's like they feel the need to be different at all costs, even at the suffering of the playerbase. Almost as if they are trying to be elitist in theory, but crippling in practice. It still seems like they are listening to people on the internet too much.

The only explanation I ever read from them was that you were taken back the starting area in order to turn the quests in. They are overcomplicating the system. It's very simple. There should be 3 options:
1) Port outside of instance - for repairs basically
2) Port to Fleet -Obvious reasons
3) Port where you came from - obvious reasons.

They also said somewhere (I don't remember where now) that they thought people would want to stay on the fleet after so they could turn in the flashpoint quests in group and any dailies you might have accomplished while in the flashpoint.

Well, thinking about the background of the Operation, I already had assumed I wouldn't face the Dread Masters. They were merely opening up the Gree gateway to summon a giant beast. The fact you actually get there with the gate already opened implies the Dread Masters have done what they needed to do and left.

I do understand the logic, and I wouldn't really expect to see them either, but mostly because I don't feel they have a whole lot up their sleeve for us to triumph over. Already they are rehashing Kephess, which while admittedly is a great idea the way they did it, bodes ill for the future. There was a funny post I read on here once spoofing the new raid in MoP where we get to kill Onyxia again again again again. For the 4th time.

I just don't want this game to sink to that level. Extending enemies to live forever from us never facing them is just as bad to me. I will give a little faith on this issue and hope that means they are holding a huge punch for Makeb.